


Lady Justice

by Mar_Ox



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Don't mistreat your emotions, Everyone Loves Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, F/M, Gen, Lila needs help, Lila needs therapy, S03 Chamelon/Caméléon AU, The all class is there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-19
Updated: 2019-11-19
Packaged: 2021-02-13 11:55:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21493870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mar_Ox/pseuds/Mar_Ox
Summary: When an akuma comes for her after Lila's games and threats, Marinette takes a bet.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 8
Kudos: 301





	Lady Justice

Marinette was in the bathroom, ranting and getting her frustrations with Lila out of her system when- “Marinette look out!” Tikki warned.

“An akuma!”

“You can resist it Marinette. Papillon’s power only affects people who believe there’s no solution to their problems and you always find a solution.”

“You’re right. You won’t get me. I am proud. I am confident. I am Marinette!” she said loudly. She was now standing, her hand in a fist. 

And the Akuma started to fly away.

Marinette fell back on the toilette. She sighed “I’m sorry Tikki, she just makes me so mad.”

“You know anger isn’t supposed to be bad despite Papillon twisting it and using it as such. Being angry is a perfectly natural process in answer to some situations.”

“Well… in the meantime, this akuma will find someone else soon. We need to be fast.” The kwami nodded in agreement. “Wait Marinette you are still-“

“Tikki transform me.”

And the kwami was swallowed in the earrings before being able to say anything more.

“It’s just not fair okay?” she frowned as she opened the bathroom stall. “They all know me and yet they choose to believe her. She is lying and manipulating everyone and she gets away with it. How exactly is that fair?”

If she had been less distracted Marinette would have heard a flap of wings. 

“It’s really not right. It’s not **just**.” she said with a final sigh.

The butterfly stood now right in front of Marinette. The girl gulped and took a step back.

I can’t let it have the miraculous. What did Tikki say? Anger isn’t negative... A light bulb went off in her mind. In one swift movement she held her bag in front of her and caught the black butterfly inside.

_“Lady Justice,”_ a voice resonated in her brain, _“I am Le papillon and I will give you the power to expose the truth and to bring justice to all of those who have been wronged and in exchange you will bring me the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat noir.”_

She smiled as a purple cloud swallowed her all around. 

“Justice will be served.”

*

Mme Bustier was about to start her lesson when a she heard a knock coming from the open door. The entire class froze at the sight of the new arrival.

A girl was standing there, a smile on her face. A white mask hid her eyes and a golden balance was hanging at her side attached to a golden chain that went over her shoulder. She wore a wheat colored cloak on her shoulder that seemed fused to the white ensemble split by a golden rope around her waist.

“Hello. I am Lady Justice.” Her voice reverberated in the classroom.

“Children get out of the room, quick,” Mme Bustier ordered her pupils.

But Lady Justice was still close to the door and almost no one moved save for the few pupils that chose to take refuge at the back of the room. Amongst them were Chloe and Lila.

“You need not worry, madam, no harm will come to the innocent,” Lady Justice said calmly, offering a smile to the teacher. “And truly one of your student forgetting to brush their teeth last night isn’t part of my dealings,” she said winking at Nino making the boy blush. 

She moved toward the back of the room.

Alya was looking at the balance hanging at her side with its chains wrapped over the girl shoulder like the strap of the bag, like- “M- marinette?” she realised. Whisper went around the room at the realisation. “Girl, what happened? …why are you barefoot?”

Everyone was watching the girl with a mix of awe and apprehension. 

“She actually doesn’t seem too bad,”Alix spoke up. “It’s weird.”

“You can fight this Marinette. I am going to call for help,” Adrien said before sneaking out of the room. 

“She looks so cool, like the lady in our last history lesson,” Kim said.

“She is moving normally,” Nino said. “When was the last time we saw a villain that wasn’t floating or super jumping or I don’t know using a random object as a magic carpet?” 

“Justice is not above anyone, Nino Lahiffe.” Lady Justice smiled as she kept advancing toward Lila. 

_“Stop making small talk and get on with it,” _ le papillon berated her.

“Justice isn’t to be rushed Papillon. Besides, Lady Bug and Chat Noir haven’t arrived yet and I have work to do. Justice will not be threatened.” 

She was now facing Lila. ”Wrongs will be righted and,“ she lifted her balance in front of the girl, ”Justice will be served.”

“What do you want?” Mme Bustier tried, determined to net let any harm come to her student.

“I call this room as witnesses,” she said ignoring the teacher. “On the charge of manipulating and threatening your fellow students and purposefully playing a part in endangering the lives of others, Lila Rossi you are put on trial.”

The balance’s chain slid in Lady Justice’s hand until it crashed and broke to pieces on the ground. “Guilty.” At those words, the broken pieces vanished and in in the chain’s place the lady held a short sword. She pointed the blade at Lila.

“No!” pleaded Mme Bustier at the same time Chat Noir arrived in the room: “I am afraid this is trial is going to have to be adjourned until a furrer judge can be appawnted.”

“Please, Marinette. Every teacher is aware of Lila’s… tendencies and I am so sorry I haven’t done better by you but that’s not for you to handle,” she begged.

“As I have told you, no harm will come to your student,” Lady Justice said to the teacher.

“You have a sword pointed at that young lady’s head, you’ll excuse us for not trusting you,” said the cat that was now at her side.

“Caline Bustier. Chat Noir. You mean well, but you must know that kindness cannot resolve all harms. What would you do then? Letting people get away with the worst of evils with a simple slap on the wrist, enabling them to keep abusing and steal from others? Fighting is vain. Justice cannot be stopped while it’s already running its course and Lila Rossi’s sentence has already been decided,” she said turning back toward the girl, her sword hadn’t moved an itch. 

Chat tried to interrupt but he couldn’t. No, that wasn’t it. He could move, he just suddenly preferred not to. He was mesmerised.

“Haha, perfect! He can’t do anything. Just take his miraculous!”

“Tss, tss. Let me work, I’ve been interrupted enough as it is… and there would be nothing just in taking them now. The fight has to be fair.”

She focused back on the girl. “Lila Rossi, you cannot lie while in Jutice’s hands.” She planted her sword in the ground. “Have you ever gone to Kowa?” 

“No, I said to my mom that Françoise-Dupont was closed because of all the akuma attacks. I never went to Kowa and never met the prince Ali. I was never friend with Lady Bug and I never met Jagged Stone. I don’t even like his music and he doesn’t have a cat.”

The girl’s hands flew to her mouth and her eyes widened. 

“As I have told you, you cannot lie. How is your health, Lila?” the lady continued.

“My wrist and my hearing are perfectly fine.” Lila gritted her teeth.

“What about your exploits?”

“I never saved or helped anyone, I never did any charity work and the most influential person I am related to is my mom.”

“Have you taken actions against anyone?”

“I manipulated you, my schoolmates. I tried to help Le Papillon destroy Ladybug and I would do it again. I threatened Marinette because she is less stupid than the lot of you and figured me out. I told her I would ruin her and make you hate her if she tried to stop me.” She snorted. “It wouldn’t be the first time I did.” 

“And finally,” the lady put a hand on the girl shoulder, “you will be helped Lila Rossi.”

Lila looked like she wanted to burn the hand on her shoulder.

The lady turned toward Chat Noir. “I’ll be right back-”she smirked, “mon minou.”

She was still turned toward him and he could have sworn she was looking right at him behind her opaque mask. She put a finger in front of her lips in a ‘shush’ gesture before vanishing. 

Did she just…? _Mon minou. Mon minou._ “Oh no! No, no, no, no. She can’t be. She can’t be!”

*

The last thing the eldest Rossi expected to see in this early afternoon was her daughter suddenly appearing in front of her with a blind? super-woman in tow.

“Gah! Who are you?”

“Hello. I’m Lady Justice. I’ve come to you about your daughter.” She turned toward the girl. “Lila, what lie did you tell your mother?” she asked to the girl, knowing the answer already.

“The college was never closed and Adrien was never my boyfriend even if I tried to bully him to be. I’ve pretended to be hurt and disabled and I’ve manipulated people to do my homework for me and hold my stuff. I pretended to be the great granddaughter of famous pianists and cooks and the best friend of rock stars or super heroes. I’ve threatened my classmates.” 

“Lila, what?” the woman paled while her little girl continued her listing of lies and stories. She was afraid, in that moment unsure if it was for her daughter or of her daughter. The fact that the stranger was another victim of that deranged butterfly didn’t even matter. She knew her daughter and, as hard as she had tried to bury them, everything was coming back to her mind at once; all the conversations with teachers and all the lies and flimsy excuses were now painting a truth she could no longer ignore and hide herself from any longer. 

As years of denial started to crack, coldness spread into her body. “She said she threatened someone. Did- did she hurt other children?” she asked the Lady in white.

“Rest assured, madam, there are no damages caused by your daughter that are yet impossible to be mended. But remember that might not be the case one day.” Lady Justice turned toward the very angry Lila. “The one who needs you is right here.”

“How?” the distraught woman asked. She hugged Lila close and the girl buried herself in her mother.

“That is not for me to judge or decide. But, maybe, this might help you and your daughter.” A card popped in her hand from nowhere and she handed it over to the woman before vanishing. On it could be read: “Dr. Agnès Duval, Psychiatrist”. 

Mme Rossie swore then she would never lie to herself ever again and tightened her hold on her daughter.

*

“Where did you send her?!” was what Chat noir shouted the moment she was back.

“I brought her back to her mother.”

“How dare yo- what?”

He noticed that the lady’s sword was gone and the balance had returned at her side.

“The help needed by Lila Rossi is one neither I can nor should provide. The rest is out of my hands. The following steps are ones only her family and Lila herself can choose to take. No one can be forced to be helped.” 

Chat noir blinked. That actually wasn’t so bad. Oh, wait. She was still the enemy. “You don’t get to choose what people deserve or don’t deserve. You don’t get to make that call.”  
He lunged for her and she dodged him. “Maybe, but I am afraid I am not done serving justice just yet.” 

_”Enough! What are you waiting for!?”_ Papillon said in her ear.

“We can now have a fair fight. Come, petit chaton.”

Chat noir kept hitting and she kept dodging and blocking. “Wait until ladybug arrives and we can talk.” 

Something other than making the entire world panic was stopping him from asking her if she was his lady. That gesture she made before disappearing was bugging him. Did she have some kind of plan? How was that even possible?

He heard little sniffs coming from the lady. What on earth… It dawned on him then that she wasn’t attacking him; she had only been warding off his blows. What was she trying to do? 

Suddenly she froze and a tiny smirked appeared on her face. “Found you,” the lady murmured. The moment had happened so softly he almost didn’t catch it. Hoping to use her distraction at his advantage he lunged again -“Cataclysm!”- but she caught his claws with her chain and restrained him on the spot. 

“I am going to need you to trust me, chaton,” she whispered in his ear before putting her hand on his shoulder and vanishing again, this time taking Chat Noir with her.

*

Le papillon stood straighter than a metal rod, cane in hand, in front of a huge window, incomprehension written behind the purple wrestling mask on his face.

_“What are you doing?”_ he growled.

The girl appeared in front of him, Chat Noir in tow. Le papillon barely had the time to ask “How?” that Lady Jutice had already sprung into action. 

“You reek of wrong doing. I call Chat Noir as witness and put you on trial,” she said as she lifted her balance in front of his head, freezing him in place. “Gabriel Agreste, you are judged for threatening and endangering the lives of others, using and manipulating their feelings and emotions, endangering the lives of children, using and manipulating the feelings and emotions of children, the neglect of your son …and also, technically, a lot of material damage.”

The chain slid. The balance crashed. The balance broke. Words were spoken. The balance vanished. The sword appeared. A chat cried.

“Chat Noir, the broach.”

He was looking behind the man in the purple suit, eyes glued on the glass coffin at the other end of the room. Tears were flowing on his cheeks. 

Chat Noir turned toward le Papillon and teared off the pin from the man’s chest before falling on his knees. “How could you?” he asked, broken.

Gabriel’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized who stood in front of him.

The lady put her other hand on the sword she was pointing toward Gabriel’s head and closed her eyes. “Lady Justice I put you on trial for scaring children, drawing a sword on another and taking justice into your sole hands.”

“Guilty,” she murmured. A white butterfly escaped from the sword and flew away. “No more evil doings for you, little akuma. I am freeing you from evil,” she said as she put her hand on her own chest. “Bye bye, little butterfly.” The purple cloud framed her again and Lady Justice disappeared letting a confused lady bug in her place.

“Where am…” Her eyes widened as she then noticed a sad looking Chat and a defeated Garbiel Agreste. “I can’t believe it! It worked!” She sobered up. “It was you.”

“Chat Noir? Why are you-” she was cut off by the boy who seemed to be engaged in the staring match with the man in front of him. “Did you even think to ask for help? That maybe our miraculous just didn’t fall from the sky? That maybe we could help or knew someone who could? Did you even think of that before going on a rampage all over Paris?” His voice got louder as he spoke. “Did it even enter your mind to just ASK FOR HELP?” 

Gabriel was ashen. 

”God, you didn’t even think of that, did you?” Chat Noir finished defeated.

He turned toward Marinette. “Ladybug? Could you have a look at the coffin over there? There’s a woman in there, I need you to go check on her.” Chat noir sniffed and wiped his face and got back on his feet. “I’ll secure the suspect,” he finished coldly.

Lady Bug looked at her partner for a few second and nodded. She was missing something. She had never seen Chat Noir like that before. 

As Marinette walked toward the back of the room Gabriel started to speak. “She is in a coma caused by the peacock miraculous. It’s broken. At first it was just a cough and dizziness and-” The voice of the designer reverberated inside the room. “I am so sorry Adrien,” he added brokenly.

Oh. It dawned on her then. There was only one person Gabriel Agreste could upset that much.

Marinette had arrived in front of the woman when she heard Chat’s soft next plea. “Lady Bug? Will you tell me what she looks like?” 

She took a deep breathe. “She- she is very beautiful and she looks peaceful.” She passed a finger on the glass. “She has long blond hair, rosy cheeks and a small nose. She has pink lips. She… looks like you.”

Lady Bug paused before continuing, “If this coma was indeed caused by a miraculous, maybe it can be fixed by a miraculous or kwami magic. And we know exactly who to ask, Chat Noir.”

Gabriel looked at her incredulously as she moved back by toward Adrien and gathered him in her arms.

*

They moved M. Agreste back into the visible part of the house after he politely indicated them how to use the elevator. The first thing Marinette did was sent a text to the police with their location.

They now stood in the lobby of the mansion. Adrien was looking at the giant painting of his mother. Marinette slowly approached him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey,” she started. 

“Hey.” 

“You shouldn’t have to stick around for his arrest, Chat. I can take care of it,” she said with a soft smile.

“No, I-“ He let out a breath, relived. “Actually, I would really appreciate it. I am not sure I can stay here one moment longer. Thank you, Bug.”  
He got is baton out of his pocket.

“This shouldn’t take too long. Go to Master Fu. Plagg will take you to him. Please? You shouldn’t stay alone,” she whispered. “You can tell him about your mom or could do it with you, if that’s what you prefer. I’ll meet you there and we’ll talk more then. About everything.”

“Okay. I’ll see you soon my lady,” he only said, suddenly exhausted of talking. He hugged her once last time before moving away toward his bedroom. 

His lack of words worried her. But there was nothing she could do right now. 

Soon, Ladybug and M. Agreste were alone in the cold entrance, facing each other. Gabriel was looking the superhero with interest. 

“Tell me, how did you do it? How did you find me?” the man couldn’t help but ask.

Marinette stayed silent for a minute before coming to a decision. 

She took a breath. “I remembered you didn’t maintain control over every akuma you created - Like that boy’s robot - before your butterfly got to me. It’s a bit blurry but in my case, Justice was the priority, the prime directive above everything else, above you and even before Lady Justice herself. It was a bet. I had kept a hand on my emotions. I was angry but I didn’t want revenge or retaliation or for anyone to hurt, but simply to makes things right. I took the butterfly openly. You just couldn’t twist my intent. The butterfly miraculous is more than what you do with it. You may have forgotten it but anger isn't violence mister Agreste. 

Marinette would have let the man mull over what she had just said but she also had something to ask him. “So, your wife is why you were looking for the cat and ladybug miraculous.”

“Yes.”

“I have a question M. Agreste. Because Adrien is right, when we arrived to fight you the first time, when the cat and lady miraculous showed up at the exact same time, you must have known that they came from somewhere, that there was a guardian or someone behind our apparition who knew miraculous. So why, _why didn’t you thought to ask?”_

**Author's Note:**

> After getting caught up on S3 and hearing the almost akumatized version of Marinette having 'Justice' in her name, I needed to get back to this and finish it. English isn't my first language.
> 
> Apparently ladybugs use their sense of smell to find stuff, the more you know. So Marinette literally sniffed Papillon out in that case. And their telepathic connexion helped. And she still had Ladybug's powers so she could still purify.
> 
> I really like my Lady Justice. I hope you enjoyed her too.
> 
> Someone with Lila's lack of empathy and general profil... I mean it's a cartoon, and not the most consistant one at that, but we are full in psychosis territory. The girl isn't okay. It's my own story and I am not even sure her hugging her mom was genuine.  
Oh, also schools have kids' medical necessity notified and the precedent school records, with everything that can impact the school work or life (if diagnosed that is), you are aware if a pupil has to take a medicine, if you need to be prepared in case of emergency. You can't bullshit a disability that easily or pretend you are studying elsewhere. I mean the school did try to call Lila's mom but they never went further into that plot point.


End file.
